Also, I remembered to write down the blog address for Buster's page. It is
www.azcentral.com/members/user/johnsbd
He tells me that his feedback on his blog has been sometimes less than positive. I'll have to read what he's written and see what he's doing wrong....
Monday night Gathering
Medtronics, a medical technology corporation, hosted an enormous dinner party for the delegates last night. We were confused, we didn’t know what to expect because this is a company that specializes in devices such as personal defibrillators, pacemakers, and products like that. Well, they’re a Fortune 500 company, a major sponsor of our convention, and they’re fantastic people on top of that!
We were bused into Minneapolis to their headquarters, which is situated on several hundred acres. On our way there, our bus was rushed past a scene out of the 60’s; protesters cresting a bridge coming towards us and police unloading out of vans with their riot gear on. Seriously!! As a van stopped in front of our bus and the police jumped out, there was a collective “UH OH” on the bus. Pretty funny.
Once we arrived at the Medtronic HQ (once again, BEAUTIFUL architecture) we were ushered into a dimly lit lobby that opened up to a very nicely prepared reception area. The lighting was like that of a posh night club, and there was music playing. I was intrigued by the wonderful wall of Lemon Drop Martinis, and was excited to discover they were free for the taking. So I took. And took. And took.
The food was delightful, we scarfed it down as quickly as we could because we were anxious to walk around and explore the rest of the facility.
I was introduced to Betsy Bayless, and former Attorney General Grant Woods, which was a nice treat. We walked outside to the courtyard and there stood a great big party tent with a stage and singers next to it. Here's one of the light fixtures out in the tent:
This is a fountain inside the tent:
Ice sculptures, fountains, floral displays, and beautiful lighting were everywhere. We had to have been standing there with our mouths dropped open. Stunning!
Inside the reception area was an ice bar. AN ICE BAR!!! Whenever I needed to wash my hands I went over and rubbed them on the bar for a little bit.
The decoration on some of the windows was huge hanging ice cubes. Buster’s got a picture of me sticking my tongue on one of them.
We managed to take the time to talk to some Medtronics employees, who summarized some of the new technology and innovations they’ve got going. The employees just happened to be doctors, so they knew their stuff. Very interesting conversation. The doctors we spoke with were very familiar with Arizona because Medtronics has a facility in Tempe. Awesome.
The governor of Minnesota gave a brief speech, and it was then that I realized I had been calling him Pitaki and that’s not his name. Well dang it I can’t know everything!!
I ran into Cindy Collins, from the Federation of Republican Women. Notice I had yet another martini in my hand...
